The setting sun was already half hidden behind the mountains, its lingering glow unable even to light the cramped living room of Xu Yuan's home.
Zhang Yaying and Xu Kexin stared blankly at Xu Yuan, both wondering whether something had gone wrong with their ears.
Words like "I'll never hit my little sister again" had actually come out of Xu Yuan's mouth?
The sun had clearly risen in the east today.
Looking at their expressions, Xu Yuan knew what they were thinking.
"I know you don't believe me, but I'm serious. I nearly got stabbed to death today..."
He repeated what he had told Old Man Lu, giving a reasonable explanation for his change.
As for how much the mother and daughter would believe, he would leave that to fate.
But after hearing him out, Zhang Yaying's first concern wasn't his change. Instead, she asked anxiously, "Then how are you feeling now? Have you been to the hospital?"
"It's already been treated, but... never mind. It's nothing."
Xu Yuan had wanted to say that he needed thirty thousand to buy a vial of tier-two divine essence solution, or he wouldn't be able to take Monday's assessment.
But he swallowed the words just as they reached his lips.
That bastard of a previous owner had long since wrecked this family. Where would they get thirty thousand for him?
He would have to figure this out himself.
"As long as you're all right. As long as you're all right. Get some rest, then. I'll go make dinner for you two."
Zhang Yaying breathed a sigh of relief, hurriedly put away the anomalous beast hide, and went into the kitchen.
Before going in, however, she made a point of telling Xu Kexin not to provoke Xu Yuan again.
Clearly, she hadn't believed what Xu Yuan had said.
At least, she hadn't dared believe all of it.
Xu Kexin returned to her little desk and sat down, turning to glance at Xu Yuan every so often as though examining some rare species.
Ignoring the little girl's strange looks, Xu Yuan sat on the old sofa with its peeling upholstery and began to think.
The martial arts class assessment would take place on Monday morning, and a tier-two potion needed twenty-four hours to heal external injuries. In other words, he had to get his hands on the tier-two divine essence solution before Sunday morning!
Otherwise, his abdominal wound wouldn't heal before the assessment.
Forget stunning everyone with a single brilliant feat-he wouldn't even be able to take the assessment.
If he forced himself to participate while injured, his wound would only split open and bleed heavily. He might even lose his life in the examination hall.
But thirty thousand was no small sum, after all. Where could he get it in so little time?
Xu Yuan tried sifting through the previous owner's memory fragments, and his vision went black.
Every way of making money in this fucker's memories involved either stealing or robbing. None of them were workable; all of them were jailable.
Helpless, Xu Yuan could only take out his phone and search online: [How can I earn thirty thousand in thirty hours?]
The search results made the corners of Xu Yuan's mouth twitch nonstop.
[Just deposit 270 million in the bank, and you'll earn thirty thousand in interest every day.]
[Cash flow problems? Don't want to ask your friends? White Bird Microloans is here to ease your worries and solve your troubles!]
[Need money urgently? Come to Guozi Used Cars! We buy used cars at high prices!]
Xu Yuan scrolled for ages, finding nothing but jokes and advertisements.
Even by the time Zhang Yaying finished cooking, he hadn't found any useful information.
"Well, since things have come to this, I might as well eat first."
Xu Yuan went over and sat at the dining table, where three dishes and a soup had been laid out.
Dried tofu with green peppers, stir-fried cabbage, hot-and-sour shredded potatoes, and egg soup.
Not a scrap of meat in sight.
Xu Yuan pressed his lips together. It looked like he didn't just need to make money for medicine-he needed to earn more to help with household expenses, too.
He quickly polished off two bowls of rice, said he was full, and returned to his room under his mother's and little sister's strange gazes.
"Mom, Xu Yuan really does seem different," Xu Kexin said.
"He's your older brother. Stop calling him Xu Yuan all the time."
"Tch, he doesn't deserve to be my brother. He's rotten and useless."
"That's enough out of you. Even food can't stop your mouth!"
Compared to the clean, tidy living room, the previous owner's bedroom was practically a pigsty.
Fortunately, Xu Yuan wasn't especially fussy either. After tidying up a little, he sat on the bed and took out his phone again.
This time, though, he wasn't planning to search online for ways to make money. Those search results made his brain ache behind his eyes.
He wanted to ask other people and see whether they had any ideas.
With that thought, Xu Yuan opened Heavenly Messenger, composed a message reading [How can I earn thirty thousand in thirty hours?], and sent it to several rich guys and girls on his friends list.
Presumably, only rich people like them would know ways to make money quickly.
After sending the message, Xu Yuan didn't just sit around waiting for replies. Instead, he sank his consciousness into his mind and came before the Beast Ranking.
The Beast Ranking had spoken before, which meant it might be conscious.
Xu Yuan wanted to see whether he could communicate with it and ask for a healing pill or something.
"Brother Ranking, you there?"
"Evil Demon Ranking?"
"Bro?"
"Sis?"
"Fam?"
Xu Yuan kept calling out, trying more than a dozen forms of address, but the Beast Ranking gave no response.
He didn't know whether it lacked consciousness or had realized he wasn't a beast and refused to acknowledge him.
Just as Xu Yuan was about to leave his mind in disappointment, his consciousness, almost pressed against the Beast Ranking, suddenly noticed something off.
His Sin Points seemed to have decreased.
Xu Yuan hurriedly focused his attention and "looked" at the number after his name.
"2308! It really changed!"
He clearly remembered that when that eerie voice had made its announcement earlier, it had said his Sin Points were 2314.
He had checked for himself, too. It had definitely been 2314.
But now, that number had become 2308!
"You can actually lose points in this thing?"
As though a bolt of lightning had struck his mind, Xu Yuan's spirit trembled. He seemed to have grasped something important out of the void.
If his Sin Points could decrease, what about everyone else's?
If theirs could, too, did that mean his rank could rise even without him gaining points?
All it would take was for the people ahead of him to drop below him in Sin Points!
" Hiss... I think I've found the right way to use the Beast Ranking!"
Xu Yuan felt his heart gradually heating up.
If he could really play it this way, the Beast Ranking would shine and burn bright in his hands!
But how had his Sin Points decreased?
Xu Yuan began recalling everything he had experienced since the Beast Ranking appeared.
The Martial God's brain taking root...
Getting the Tiger Roar Sky-Piercing Spear for free...
Comprehending the Savage Bull Heart-Shattering Butt...
Bullshitting about how talented he was...
Stopping Sun Hao from collecting protection money...
Scene after scene flashed through his mind. Taking the Beast Ranking's mechanics into account, Xu Yuan soon had an answer!
It was stopping Sun Hao from collecting protection money!
That counted as a good deed, and Sin Points had to be earned through evil deeds. Then doing good, their opposite, was naturally what caused Sin Points to fall!
That was it!
That had to be it!
In other words, as long as he made all the beasts ranked above him do good deeds and accumulate virtue, he could climb higher step by step and keep claiming rewards!
Only, that seemed a little difficult...
He wasn't Nangong Wenya, who could turn anyone she touched into an idiot. How could he make a bunch of beasts wash their hearts clean and turn over a new leaf, doing good and accumulating virtue?
No, that line of thinking was too narrow.
Who said they had to wash their hearts clean and turn over a new leaf before doing good and accumulating virtue?
Wouldn't holding a knife to their throats work even better?
Except that seemed to bring up another problem...
Xu Yuan's mind raced, and he decided to run an experiment on someone from the ranking!
Who?
Luo Han and Sun Hao, of course.
Those two scumbags had followed the previous owner around committing all kinds of evil for so long. They were bound to have their names on the ranking!
Just as Xu Yuan expected, he soon found their names.
[Luo Han: 1562, rank 13!] [Sun Hao: 2334, rank 9!]
Luo Han was one thing, but looking at Sun Hao's Sin Points and rank, Xu Yuan couldn't help clicking his tongue inwardly.
He had thought the previous owner was beastly enough, but Sun Hao actually surpassed him.
He really couldn't underestimate the beasts of this world.
His eyes snapped open. Xu Yuan grabbed his phone and sent Sun Hao and Luo Han a message:
[Come to the pedestrian street at nine tomorrow morning. I've got something good for you!]
Only after sending it did Xu Yuan check the replies from the rich guys and girls.
[Zhou Ling: Fuck off!]
[Liu Yin: Sell a kidney.]
[Huang Yun: ...]
The earlier replies either cursed him out or brushed him off. Only Zhang Juye was a decent guy and seriously offered him a suggestion:
[Zhang Juye: Didn't you say you were really talented at martial arts? You could set up a stall in the exchange hall at the Azure Cloud Martial Arts Base and guide people in practicing martial techniques. As long as you've got real skills, you'll earn thirty thousand in no time.]
After he read Zhang Juye's message, the previous owner's relevant memories surfaced as well.
He really could do that.
It was just that this memory of the previous owner's was too hazy. Without someone pointing it out, Xu Yuan wouldn't have remembered it at all.
There were still good people in this world!
[Xu Yuan: Thanks. I'll treat you to a foot massage sometime!]
Xu Yuan sent that reply without thinking.
After sending it, he felt it might not be quite appropriate. Zhang Juye wasn't eighteen yet.
But just as he was about to recall it, Zhang Juye's message arrived:
[Zhang Juye: Is it a legitimate place? If it's legitimate, I'm not going.]
"????"